1 hr, 3.0 kms



Tudma is actually the beginning of a "Valley Civilization", a stretch of valley several kilometres long, with scatterings of houses and hamlets along the slopes along with orchards and cultivated plots . There really isn't any flat fertile lowland. Instead, in this region people have carved out thousands of terraces into the sides of the mountains. I’ve never seen terracing to this extent outside of the Far East. And what’s mind boggling about this area is that these are not gentle, fertile slopes—these hillsides are often 70% rock… so you’ve got to be really determined if you expect to grow your food here.

Of course, not all of this part of Morocco is that rugged. To the north of here are the plains of Biougra and Taraoudant, a vast, flat, well irrigated area. To the west is Tiznit, another flat agricultural area. Which makes me wonder… why would people choose to move here and try to live off such a rocky terrain?

Later I ask people about it, but can’t really get a clear answer. My theory is that, back in the day, there were constant conflicts in the plains between different Berber tribes and between Arabs and Berbers. At some point these people decided it was better to just get out of there and come here where nobody would want to invade them—as there’s nothing here that would tempt lowlanders, used to a much easier life, to want to try and invade… Not to mention that the narrow gorges you have to follow to get here would be easy to defend against invaders .

Perhaps they started out as herdsmen, and gradually, painstakingly began to cut out these terraces in the mountainside using basic tools. They earned the right to live here through sweat and tears. But even that wasn’t enough. During dry years there simply isn’t enough water for their crops, no matter how hard they worked to make this land cultivatable.

Necessity became the mother of invention, and now these people are using their same skills and determination to prosper in the cities.

I ponder on this as I follow paths down to the bottom of the valley and up the other side. The path disappears and I have to climb up terrace by terrace, sometimes blocked by overgrowth. Many of these plots are still being cultivated—although the only people I see working are construction workers, building yet more big summer homes for the natives who have made their fortunes in the cities.

At the far end of the valley there’s one empty hamlet right at the base of a cliff that entices me for a closer look… and I decide to count it as another “town”, even though I don’t see anybody home.